In the Shadows
by EastCoastHoosier
Summary: Not everyone at Hogwarts is Harry Potter. Nor are they all Malfoys or Longbottoms or Weasleys. Sometimes there are just plain muggleborns who never get mentioned. Not everyone gets to be famous. This is the story, well, diary, of a young muggleborn girl who never really gets to know Harry, Ron or Hermione.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fanfiction ever! This is basically going to be the Harry Potter books from the viewpoint of someone who is **_**not**_** Harry Potter and who will never be associated with Harry really. She may end up being in the DA in the future, but otherwise it will just be her going through school and her opinions, as an outsider, on Harry's actions. Also, if writing style seems a little juvenile, this is an 11 year old's diary, it won't be perfect.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor will I ever own Harry Potter**

Dear Diary,

Today is my eleventh birthday. That's, like, fully into the double digits. Ten is in the double digits as well, but, you know, it's right on the edge, nine is touching it still. But, eleven, that is a grown-up number. Or, at least, that's what my mom tells me. She's really smart. She actually teaches English at the local Uni. She's the smartest person I EVER met in my whole life, and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom.

Anyways, so, it's my birthday, and my parents let me open my gifts as soon as I got up today. They made me an omelet, and then I opened my gifts. You were one of them. I also got a new video game, I know that my brother is dying for me to play it so then he can have a go. You know the rules, birthday girl gets to play all of her gifts first.

Speak of the devil, he's actually sitting next to me and whining that I'm wasting precious time. Because apparently he _needs_ to play. So, to get him to shut up and leave me alone, I guess that I'm gonna play my game, and he's gonna sit next to me and backseat game. He's such a dweeb.

Bye!

* * *

Diary,

Okay, I'm back. And, boy, do I have a lot of stuff to tell you.

So, the most amazing, coolest, most incredible thing ever just happened. Like, I was playing my game and then the doorbell rang. And, that was wierd weird because no one was coming over for my birthday, not because I don't got no friends, but because it's the middle of the week and I'm having a sleepover on Friday after school. My first sleepover ever!

Anyways, I'm playing, and the bell rings. My mom, who was also watching me play (I know that she bought the game for me because _she_ wanted to play the game as well), gets up to get the door, and there's this older looking lady outside. She's telling me that she has this invitation for me. And, well, as it should, my mom gets this really weird face and tells the lady that she has no idea what's going on and that she should get to the point before she calls the cops. So, Ms. Strange School Lady quickly explains about how there is a special school in the U.K. that takes students who have special skills and that I have been found to have these skills, and that she can explain more if my mom will just let her inside.

Well, after a moment this seems to fly with my mom and she lets the lady inside. It's really funny watching her reaction to our home; everyone seems so surprised by it. Our family recently moved to England from America because my mom got a job at a university, and my dad was then transferred to a branch of his company overseas so we could all live together. Anyways, our house is filled with American things, I don't mean annoying things like shrines to Texas (everyone seems to think America is only Texas over here), but like pictures and signs from our trips to Broadway and New York in general, our roadtrip around New England and all the pretty covered bridges in New Hampshire and the Seaport in Connecticut and the Boston Harbor, our multiple trips to Disney World and such. I really missed it when we first moved, so I made my mom cover the walls in pictures and dedicate whole rooms to states we went to a lot. Our living room is dedicated to Florida, because that's where my brother and I were born. My room is New England. I got my mom to find a screen of snow on trees and made it my wallpaper. Zach's is Michigan. He's wanted to go to college there since he was a REALLY little kid, so he has pictures of the university all over his walls and pictures of our relatives out there surrounding his doorframe in the hallway. He's now a whole 14 years old and it's still his dream school, that is dedication.

Oh poop, I lost track of where I was again, Mr. Diary. Umm… let's see. Oh yeah! Ms. School Lady was awestruck at our awesome décor. So, after she soaked it all in, she was like, "Oh, this explains why she just showed up on our records." And my mom was like, "Excuse me? What do you mean by that? What records?" The lady made a face like she didn't realize she said that out loud. Whoops. Ms. Lady, you forgot that mothers hear everything, no matter how quiet. So then the lady sat down on our couch and FINALLY got around to explaining some things.

"First of all, my name is Minerva Mcgonagall, and I am a professor at a special boarding school in Scotland that offers places to special students who possess a certain skill…"

"Are you calling my daughter special? Are you saying that she needs to be taken away!"

"No!" This Mcgonagall lady burst out, obviously frightened of my mother, who had gone into protective, defensive mother mode (you know the one, all mothers have it). She then quickly added, "Your daughter, Emily, has been offered a place at my school because of her talent in magic." She looked quite proud of herself after this, being able to say that all without my mother cutting in.

I swear you could have heard a pin drop after that statement. My mother, after a few moments of silence, took a deep breath and repeated the last word, "Magic? So, you're saying that my daughter, my darling Emily, is actually some sort of magician? Like, Merlin? What's your proof?"

Ms. Teacher Lady seemed to be impressed that my mother hadn't started yelling at her again, untensed herself, and went into teacher mode, "Why yes, your daughter seems to have been born with the ability to do magic, much like Merlin," my mother's face looked incredulous here "who was, in fact a real person." My mother's face settled for flabbergasted when she heard that. "Furthermore, because of her ability to use magic, she has been given a place at the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She would have been placed in the Salem Witches' Institute, but, as you have moved over here to England, you were instead placed on our roster, which is why I had stated earlier that she had just been put on our records. Every country has a record of every magical person residing in their borders, and our school collects them to find our students."

My mother was the only one who had really heard that at first. For the first half of that conversation, my brother and I were just in shock that magic was real (_so that explains all that stuff I did growing up_) and, by the time that it had all caught up to us, we heard that the school was called Hogwarts, and we started giggling. Hogwarts, what a _silly_ name. What's the rival school called? Pigfarts?

After we finished giggling (Mom was glaring at us until we stopped), my mom then asked the only important question, which was "Can you show us this magic? Prove that it is real?" Zach and I straightened up real quick, we really wanted to see a grown-up do real magic.

I mean, now that she had told me magic was real, I knew about the stuff that I had done and that it was magic, like the times I closed the blinds because the sun was shining in my eyes when I was trying to read my book, or the time that I fell off the playground at school and the ground felt like a trampoline and I had bounced, or all the times that I would will the controller or my food to come closer to me and it would, but still, seeing it in real life by a trained person would be awesome.

Teacher Lady smiled, pulled out what I am guessing is her wand, and then waved it towards the couch. Which then turned into a dog, a huge, fluffy dog that barked twice before she turned it back into a couch. _Wicked._ That was the only word for it really, wicked. I couldn't wait to be able to do that. My mother saw me jumping in my seat, and after shaking her head a few times, turned to the lady and sighed, "Well, magic is real, that's gonna take a few days to set in, and, I can see that Em is really excited about this and wants to go," "YES MOMMY!" "So I guess I have no choice but to accept this all. So I'm gonna ask you about all of the technical details, like tuition and supplies and such, and then I'm gonna have to talk this over with my husband when he gets home from work. Is there anything else that you need to tell Emily? Because I know that her and Zach won't care about the fine print, and therefore I can send them out to play so they can stretch their legs after sitting for so long."

Teacher Lady smiled and turned to me. I'm pretty sure I still looked super amazed by her because she chuckled, and then pulled out a letter. "Emily, this is your acceptance letter to the school, it also has, enclosed, your school supply list. I'm going to give this to your mother so we can talk about where to find the supplies you'll need. Two the both of you though, before you run off, I have one _very _important thing to tell you. _You are not allowed to tell anyone about this._ People who are not magical are not allowed to know about magic. The only reason your household is allowed to know is because they live with you. You are not allowed to tell any of your friends. If anyone asks where you go to school, you have to just say it's a prestigious boarding school in Scotland that you got a scholarship for. If you tell anyone else about the fact that you are magic, we will have to find them and erase their memories. This is very serious, _do you understand me_?"

My brother and I look at each other, I see that his face mirrors mine, completely startled, and we look back at her and nod slowly, and then run out of the room.

After Zach and I made delicious peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and I beat him in Go-Fish (he thinks I used my magic to do it), we finally heard the front door close. My mother then walks into the kitchen, looking exhausted. I mean, I don't blame her; her world just got turned upside down. She tells me that when Marc comes home (he's my step-dad), that we aren't going to tell him about magic. She wants to do that after he's relaxed a bit after work (his job is _really _stressful) and, as she talked to the teacher lady the most, she's the most knowledgeable about magic so she can answer more of his questions correctly. We agree, though I know that Zach and I are gonna be bursting with excitement all dinner.

Right before Marc is due home, I ask my mom the important question, "When are we gonna get all my stuff? Can we go tomorrow?" She smiled in response and said it all depended on Marc.

Dinner went really well, Marc brought home a big cake and some cookie mix so we can bake them tonight together (I love cooking with him, it's so much fun!) and then we had some tasty steak (I love steak!) and he gave me a present that he picked up on the way home from work, which was a new book! He got me the next Lord of the Rings book, which made me super happy because I had just finished the last one (man, he thinks of everything, good dad points to you!).

And, well, that's all I got. My mom asked Zach to clear up the table after dinner and I told him that he could play my game now, because I just wanted to read my new book and write in you, Mr. Diary. I can hear my mom trying to talk to my dad now and ease him into the idea of magic, it's kinda funny hearing him sputtering about how it can't be real. It's good having the room right next to the stairs sometimes.

Night night!

**I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter, please leave a review with your opinions or any advice you may have! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Diary,

Marc said that it's okay for me to go! They made me wait until he got home from work tonight thought to tell me. School was sooooo painful waiting for his answer. So then I started asking when we could go to get my stuff, because I'm really super excited to go and I want my stuff and I want my wand and OMIGOODNESS I AM MAGIC! But, my mommy told me no, that we couldn't go that evening. She said that it was because of two reasons: one, because it was too late and she didn't know when the stores would close, and two, because I was having my sleepover on Friday night but we could go on Saturday. I didn't really get why the sleepover was important until she reminded me that no one is allowed to know about magic and having a lot of people over would make it really hard to hide my magic stuff. Thank goodness my mom knows everything.

So, since I couldn't go and _get_ my magic stuff, I did the next best thing and begged for my letter to see what I would be getting. She pulled it out of her pocket (she knows _everything_) and handed it over.

**Ms. E. Macintosh**

**Room by the Stairs**

**2 North Rise**

**Llanishen**

**Cardiff**

Even though I have lived over here all school year, it's still weird to see that new address, I doubt I'll ever get used to it.

Anyways, the envelope was really super heavy and it felt all fancy. I was wondering how much money this school must have if they send every invitation letter on super fancy paper. And, wait, what's that on my fingers? Wax! Holy poop, they use wax seals! This is just like the books I read, they're really going the extra mile to impress me, aren't they? Because, well, they're succeeding. I am impressed.

Oh yeah, opening the letter. Wait? The seal is already broken? I look up at my mother, and she knows what I'm trying to tell her, she _always knows_ (seriously, how do mothers _always_ know? Is there like a mind reading thingy that activates when you have kids?). Anyways, she explains why it's open by telling me "Remember? I had Professor Mcgonagall explain to me where to pick up all of your supplies." That woman, amazing, I tell you. With that out of the way, time for me to finally open the letter.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**of WITCHRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(**_**Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**_

_**Supreme Mugwamp, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

**Dear Ms. Macintosh, **

** We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. **

** Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. **

**Yours sincerely, **

**Minerva McGonagall, **

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

What? Owls? Dumbledore? There's a CONFEDERATION of wizards? Seriously, if there are that many, enough to warrant a confederation, how in the world has the magical world stayed hidden.

"Mom? How are we gonna send back our response? As, you know, we don't have an owl?"

"Don't worry about, I already asked McGonagall," (I'm glad I have that letter so I actually know the lady's name!) "she told me how to get to the shopping district, and they have sort of mail service there. We'll send the letter there."

Nodding in understanding, I opened the large piece of paper in the envelope. A ticket fell out, which my mother promptly snatched out of my lap, and then I turned my attention back to the shopping list.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL **

**of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First year students will require:**

**Three sets of plain work robes (black) **(really, robes are still a thing? Ick)

**One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear **(They sound like they're in the Dark Ages? Society has moved on people!)

**One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **(DRAGONS!)

**One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **(Okay, cloaks are cool. I have always wanted to own a cloak)

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags.**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) **_**by Miranda Goshawk**

_**A History of Magic **_**by Bathilda Bagshot **

_**Magical Theory **_**by Adalbert Waffling **(Who names their kid this?)

_**A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration **_**by Emeric Switch**

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**_** by Phyllida Spore **(I feel like she was forced into this)

_**Magical Drafts and Potions**_** by Arsenius Jigger**

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them**_** by Newt Scamander**

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection**_** by Quintin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

** 1 wand **(I'M SO EXCITED)

** 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

** 1 set glass or crystal phials**

** 1 telescope**

** 1 set brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS **(WHAT, BROOMSTICKS? DO I GET TO FLY?)

I look up from the letter. And then back down. Up. Down. Up. "Mom, where are we getting this?"

She stifles a laugh (shh you!), and then replies, "Diagon Alley, it's in London. So you're gonna have to ask your friends to leave real early Saturday morning so we can get as much done as we can this weekend."

After making a mental note to tell all my friends about this plan at school the next day, I point the second to last line, "What type of pet can I get?"

"Well, I had asked your professor about that, while you can get an owl, she told me that there are school owls that you can borrow whenever you want. And, I know how much you miss our pets that we had back in the US, so I was thinking about getting you a cat. There's apparently this type of magical cat called a Kneazle that's like a super intelligent cat."

This weekend needs to come sooner. Seriously.

Love you, Diary!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello y'all! Here is chapter 3. I'm sorry I forgot to write this on the last chapter. So first off, I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. I also don't own anything else that you would recognize. I only own my main character and her family, as I made them up. Also, any writing that seems familiar and is in bold is not mine, I took them from the books. Enjoy!**

Diary,

Today was the most magical day ever. Haha, get it? Magical? Nevermind, you're just a book, but I know that when I read this again later I'll giggle. Anyways, I had the best day I have ever remembered having.

First of all, I had my sleepover on Friday, and it was so much fun! We watched The Princess Bride (my favorite movie ever) and ended up trying to quote it as often as possible. My parents made my favorite meal and we had a huge cake! The only sad thing about it was that my old friends couldn't be here, and I missed them terribly.

So, after the sleepover, we made the trip over to London. On our way, my mom pulled this brochure-like thingy out of her pocket and started telling us what we would need to know. For example, non-magic people are called muggles (that sounds SOOO weird. Like where did they come up with that?) and I'm called a muggleborn witch. We're on our way to some bar, that only I can see, and we're gonna press a random brick to walk through a wall to get to the alley. I keep giving my mother incredulous looks, but she insists that all the information is legit, as the teacher lady gave it to her before she left, and that lady looks like the last person to be pulling an intricate prank like this. Also, this bar, pub, whatever, also has rooms, so we're gonna rent two to spend the night in, so we can all _experience_ magic before I leave. Those were my mom's words, in case you were wondering, diary.

We get there and my parents are looking so confused. _Oh yeah, they can't see it._ Good thing too, the pub, called the Leaky Caldron, looks so sketchy. If it weren't for the fact that I have to go in there, I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. I turned to my family, asked them to hold my hands, and walk them into the pub.

The inside isn't much nicer than the outside, though decidedly more magical. There's dust and grime everywhere, but there's also a bunch of witches and wizards doing magic to do small things, like getting stuff for their tea and the guy at the bar is getting people their food by wizzing it over to them magically. It's incredible. And, I can tell by my family's face, that they completely agree. My dad almost looks dizzy. My mother, after a moment to collect herself, walks over to the barman and asks how to get to the alley. He gives her a look over ("A muggle? You must have a kid about to go to Hogwarts."), introduced himself (Tom), and then pointed her over to the doorways out to the alley. We sped over to the doorway as quickly as we could, as some people were staring, and not all of them looked over excited.

Outside of the exit was just an empty alleyway. There was nothing magical about it. My mother then reached into her pocket for that brochure thingy and turned the page. "Okay, let's see, from the trashcan, three up, and two across." She then pressed a brick. There was a weird noise, and the whole wall start to move and open up. THE WHOLE WALL! It was _amazing_! And so then there was this huge hole in the wall and, like magic (cheesy, I know), there was a whole district behind the wall.

I didn't know where to look first. There were shops everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Shops were shoved in every nook and cranny, they were all shapes and sizes, and there were so many colors. It was like a rainbow. And the people! Most were dressed in robes, but they weren't all black, they came in every color that I could ever imagine. And there are actually different styles of robes! That was something I did not know before today. So maybe being stuck wearing robes all the time won't be _that_ painful, only slightly.

My mother, still with her handy brochure out, flipped to another page. "Okay, first place we should stop is the bank, so we can switch our money… hmmm…. Gringotts… big, tall, looks like marble…. Hey, let me know if any of you guys see it!"

Zach then pointed to the end of one of the side streets. _That's the bank?_ It was crazy tall and super intimidating. Who thought up that building design? And as I start to zone out and ponder the different building schematics they could have used, my mother starts to read again. "This information packet tells me that the bank is run by goblins, so we should not be alarm at the fact that they look different, and we should be as respectful as possible. You guys hear that, don't be rude to these goblin things, no staring and no standing there all flackjawed, you'll only be making fools of yourself."

When we get to the bank, I was so thankful for my mother's warning. Goblins are putrid looking creatures. I guess it isn't their fault what genetics gave them, but if I wasn't aware of their existence before I walked in, I would have made a complete fool of myself. I know Zach stared for a few moments before I pushed his shoulder. And my mom had to practically push Marc towards the exchange desk. When we got there though, Marc had calmed down, and pulled out his wallet to transfer funds. He was also smart enough to ask how much would be necessary for a first year student's supplies and such. The goblin looked a little taken aback by the fact that my dad was asking him these questions, but he was pretty good at controlling his face and answered all the questions without any emotions (past the initial blip).

Now, my dear diary, it was time to go shopping! The first thing we decided to get was my wand. After consulting the map my mother had in her brochure, we went towards Ollivanders. I was practically running, until my dad grabbed my shoulder and gave me that look, that _we are in public you know you shouldn't be running aren't you eleven years old_ look. I hate that look. So I go at everyone else's snail pace and we _finally_ get there. Seriously, I felt that my parents were going as slowly as possible. Anyways, we got to the store. It didn't look like much, but, I guess if you are the only maker of wands in the area, you don't really need to advertise much. I rush into the store; I want to see how it is that I get my own wand.

The store was empty. Or, at least, it looked empty. The storekeeper wasn't in sight, nobody was in sight really, only a single chair and rows and rows of boxes, all behind the desk.

"**Good afternoon," said a soft voice**. I jumped. I can't stand when _anyone_ tries to creep behind me. I hear my family gasp. An ancient looking man was standing in front of me, his tiny frame dwarfed by the stacks of boxes surrounding him.

"So, you're here for your wand then?" I nod, still a little shaken from him jumping out at me. "Hmm... muggleborn, I don't recognize you or your family. Fun, that means a fresh start!"(fresh start?) "Now, **which is your wand arm?**"

_My what? Oh, wand arm, right or left handed. Got this._ "Right, sir."

"**Hold out your arm. That's it.**" He started measuring my body. Shoulder width, arm length, forearms, height, torso, head. Most of these measurements made no sense to me. _Well, he's a professional, got to trust him_.

As I was trying to make sense of all the measurements, he started talking. "**Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance,** Miss Macintosh" _How did he know that?_ "**We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are the same. And, of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand.**"

He chuckled after his lesson, as I will admit that I was staring a little bit in awe. How did they learn this information? When did it become known that these were the best cores? Blame me for being a bit inquisitive, but I wanted to learn more about the subject. But, I felt that this wasn't the best time to ask, as we had so much to do still today, maybe I could find a book on it later.

As I was having my internal monologue, Mr. Ollivander had come back with a few boxes. He opened up the first one, and there was a wand. _All of these boxes hold wands? That's a lot of wands. _I was, once again in awe. I needed to stop doing that and start paying more attention. Anyways, I walked up to th counter, to where the wand was.

"Vine and dragon heartstring, 10 inches."

I tentatively reached forward and grabbed the wand. And it was immediately snatched out of my hand. And, as quickly, another was shoved into my hand.

"Rowan and phoenix feather, 11 inches."

I held it, watched him to make sure he wasn't gonna grab it from me, and then gave it a slight flick. The chair exploded. _Whoops. _

I handed the wand back to him, "I'm going to take a guess and say that that was a no."

He chuckled again and handed me a third wand.

"It was almost there, try this one instead. Rowan and unicorn tail, 10 inches."

I grabbed it, and I knew. I got those warm and fuzzies that you get from watching a good movie and drinking hot cocoa. I gave the wand a wave and all the windows opened, allowing sun to come in and warm up the room considerably. That was amazing. That was _magic. _I did magic. _I did magic!_

I turned around to my family and saw them staring gobsmacked at me. If there was any lasting uncertainty about this whole magic business, that definitely cinched it for everyone.

After Marc paid for my wand, I left the store skipping. I could hear my parents chuckling at me for being so giddy, but I don't care, I did _magic_. Zach was just staring awestruck and walking besides me, staring at the wand in my hand. While walking to the next store, he started to calm down, and we started talking about all the cool stuff I was going to be able to do. I could tell he was a little jealous, so I promised him that we would go through all my magic books together and I would try out anything he asked me to. He brightened up a little after that.

We then went and got my clothes, or robes, or whatever. The robes didn't look so bad once I had them on. I know it'll take a while to get used to wearing them, I hate dresses, but if I have to, I can do it. I also got a pair of normal, not school robes, because you never know when you'll need them. And, as I expected, owning a cloak automatically makes you infinitely more awesome. I put that bad boy on and was like, BAM, I am awesome. Same with the gloves, I mean, they're made out of dragon hide, _dragon hide_, how is that anything but awesome. I have dragon skin on my hands; suck on that you annoying muggle girls!

Anyways, I had awesome things in my wardrobe. Unfortunately, I also got some icky things. Actually, more like one icky thing. The freaking hat. That hat was disgusting looking, no way around it. It almost seems like it was created to make everyone wearing it look terrible. I hope that I don't actually have to wear that all year long. I could hear my brother laughing at me while I was trying it on. _Laugh little boy, see how funny it is when I put ice in your pillow again_.

Afterwards we went to the potions store, or apothecary or whatever, and got all my potions supplies. That store smelled disgusting, but the class can't be horrible. I mean, being able to make potions to heal people and such, that sounds awesome. I just hope that the classroom smells better and is better kept than that store.

My dad then quickly went back to the Leaky Caldron with all of my stuff to both secure us some rooms (now that we have wizard money) and put my stuff down. When he came back, with two room keys and arms not full of school supplies, we moved on to the bookstore, the part that my mother and I had been most looking forward to (other than the wand). After getting the basic textbooks, my dad turned to my mother and me and told us that we were allowed only 2 extra books each. _Only two! _What the heck was I supposed to do with only two extra books, and I know that my mother would die with only two new books. But Marc made the rule. I look at my mother and we both sigh. I walked over to the history section, and my mother walked over to the literature section. _True to form._ My mother, being an English Literature professor, would obviously want to see what kind of literature there was in the Wizarding world. And, well, me, I'm one for history, always have been.

It took me a while to find the history section, there wasn't much to it. Barely a whole shelf. I was insulted that there was so little history for me to read. _Well, this makes my decision as to which books to buy much easier._ I found a small book called _Hogwarts, A History_ that immediately caught my eye. _History of the school, that sounds like a good idea. _ I grabbed the book and put it under my arm. Now for my second book. Hmm. A biography on Merlin? He was real? Well, I always loved his books growing up. Well, Arthur's books. Guess I should read what really happened. I grab the sizable book on Merlin and wander back to Marc, making notes of other books to look at on another trip.

My mother arrives a few minutes later than me, with three books. Marc glares at her for going over his two book rule, but she gives him puppy eyes, and she wins. _As usual._ He sighs and pays for all of our books. Later he went up to me and told me that he knew she was going to do that and planned for it. Actually, he thought she would demand more books and prepared for that. He let me know that I was getting all of the extra money from this trip so I could have wizard money. He is the best dad ever.

Last, and most definitely not least, was getting our pet. We walked into the store and were bombarded with all the different types of animals and their noises. I looked at snakes, rats, owls, everything. But, as my mother bet, I ended up staring at the cats the longest. I know that I've missed having a cuddly pet for far too long, and being able to take one away to school with me was just too much of an opportunity for me to miss. I ended up picking out a tiny, half kneazle kitten. It was, in my most unbiased opinion, the cutest thing ever. And it still is, as I am writing this now and it is cuddling next to me. She's a tiny grey kitten with white spots and blue eyes. I named her Artemis, as she reminded me of the moon.

Goodness, this day was great, even if I have to share a room with my brother tonight. Well, I mean, we used to share a room, but now that I finally had my own room, it's tough to share with him again. Anyways, Zach's starting to complain about how tired he is and how I should turn off the light. I'll write again tomorrow.

Night!

**Thank you for reading! Please leave a review letting me know your opinion on it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to Chapter 4! And now we're finally getting to Hogwarts! Or at least the train. Still, magical world, here we come!**

**I don't own anything that you recognize. The few words of bold print are straight from the books. A majority of said recognizable things belongs to J.K. Rowling. I own the main character, that is all. **

Dear Diary,

Holy poop, this summer needs to go by faster. I already read my history books, and my mother's novels, and all my textbooks. I also tried most everything I could from said textbooks. My parents drew the line at potions though. Said that, one, I couldn't run out of ingredients before school started, and two, no matter how good I am at cooking, they don't want to deal with explosions. Party poopers.

Just like I promised him, I have been going through my spellbooks with Zach whenever he wants to and trying all the spells he thinks looks cool. I can tell that he is jealous, but at least now he feels kinda involved. I hate that he didn't also get magic, it would be so much better if he could come too. I mean, we don't always get along, but we know that we can trust each other, and we're always at least civil to each other. That's a lot better than most siblings, I know that for a fact.

Anyways, I've gone through all of my spellbooks, I've practically memorized my history books, both the assigned and my own texts, and I've been trying to wear my robes more often so I can get used to wearing them. This summer needs to end. NOW. I know that my parents don't want me to go, I mean they do, but they'll miss me. And I know that Zach is jealous. It's just so tough, especially since I haven't really been hanging out with any of my friends from school. Knowing that I am leaving and experiencing something that they will never even be allowed to know about makes it really tough to hang out with them, as I don't want to say anything, and I also don't want to become too attached. It's bad enough that I miss my old friends from the states every day, I don't need this new slew of friends to become attached to. So, while I know I'm making the right choice by distancing myself, I also know that it's really tough to purposefully subject yourself to an entire summer with only your family for company. I'm getting cabin fever over here for goodness sake.

I need to go and run or something…

Bye!

* * *

Dear diary,

I AM FINALLY AT HOGWARTS!

After a whole summer of anticipating this place, it lives up to all of my expectations. Good job Hogwarts!

Today has been _such_ a busy day. Well, the last two days have been rather hectic. We spent last night at the Leaky Caldron again, as the train to school (yeah, we take a train), left at 11, and there was no way that we were gonna make the trip to London that early in the morning and remember everything.

So, I frantically packed everything yesterday, with my parents helping. Well, more like dumping everything magical around the house into my room continuously throughout the day. Which, in case you were wondering, made it really hard to organize. Like, as soon as I had finished putting all my books in the trunk by subject, my mother would come in with a few of my books that she had borrowed for her young adult lit. class. So helpful. But I eventually got everything packed and managed to get Artemis into her kennel and we made it to London. I half didn't think we were gonna get there.

So, now to the good part, diary. So the train to school is at King's Cross, and guess what platform it's on? Platform 9 ¾! You have to walk _through_ a WALL to get there. A WALL! We watched this kid go through with his grandmother, and I could hardly believe my eyes. Magic really is incredible. So I walk through the wall (which still sounds amazing to me after the fact), and I found myself on this GIGANTIC platform that was full of wizards! The huge mass of magical people, paired with the sight of this gorgeous red train (the Hogwarts Express) was such a sight to see. It is one of my favorite views I have ever had in my life, with pretty much only two things topping it: the sunrise from my great-grandmother's house, and a forest after a blizzard. It was amazing.

So I say goodbye to my family and I will admit (only to you) that I cried, a lot. I managed to get myself back together before I finished hugging my mother (I made sure to hug her last, as I knew she would understand and would hold me as long as I needed, mothers are good like that), and then lugged my stuff onto the train. As we were kinda early (we always are), I managed to get a good compartment (which not so coincidentally was positioned right next to where my family was standing), and went on to make funny faces at my family through the window, which they gleefully returned.

I stopped however, when someone else came into my compartment. She was young, she looked about my age, and had this nice blonde hair. She looked a little bit meek. But, hey, I'm sure that I looked frightened then too. She looked at her feet nervously, "Hello, is it alright if I sit here?"

Who am I to tell someone no, especially when I don't know them? I shrugged and looked back out the window. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a pack of redheads jump onto the train at the same time as the whistle started to blow. I stared down my family and waved to them. I didn't stop waving until we had pulled out of the station and I couldn't see them anymore. I sighed.

Realizing that I had been kinda rude, I turned back to the girl and smiled, "Hey, my name's Emily. Emily Macintosh, what's yours?"

She stared at me. Rude.

After a moment, she shook her head and answered, "Hello, my name is Hannah Abbott, where are you from, I can't place your accent. It almost sounds American." She said the last part as almost a question, daring me to be American. And, well, I dared.

"Well, yeah, I am. I moved over to England over the last summer after my mom got a job at one of the uni's teaching literature."

She continued to stare, apparently being American is crazy talk. It's almost like she's never met someone from another country before. Weird.

She once again shook her head and started to apologize. "I'm so sorry about that, it's just that, I don't think there's ever really been an American student at Hogwarts. They usually go to Salem. It makes sense though. You moved here, and therefore you get to go here. Good thing too, Hogwarts is the best magic school around."

"So I've heard, I've been soaking up all the information I can about this place, it all seems surreal, don't you think?"

She giggled, "I was raised knowing that I'd be going to Hogwarts, as my mother went to school here as well. But yes, ever since I got my letter I've been so much more interested in the learning about magic. I used to loathe reading, and now I've actually been caught willingly reading a textbook. Woe is me."

We both laughed at that. And, I must say, that really helped to lighten up the atmosphere; it was getting a bit stifling with all the awkwardness we were both feeling.

Our conversation became a lot more relaxed and comfortable after that. We talked about houses, and which one that we thought we would be in (she said Hufflepuff, and I was stuck between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff), and Hannah tried her best to explain the magic world to me. I mean, I understood the basics from my books, but there are just some things that don't make sense unless you either, a, experience them, or b, have someone who has passion for it tell you about it. And, once she became comfortable, Hannah had passion.

I learned about everything from Quidditch (which made a lot more sense when explained in conversational language, let me tell you) to the magical properties of some dishes (chicken noodle soup IS good for your soul). And I loved it. I was making a friend and learning about my environment, double win! I just hoped that the knowledge that I had, both from my books and from Hannah, would be enough for me to not stick out as someone ignorant. There's nothing I hate more than looking like a bloody tourist. Hey, I just said bloody! I _am_ picking up British lingo! More winning!

Anyways, during our conversation I met a few of Hannah's friends, who would stop in briefly, introduce themselves, stare at me when I said hello in my American accent, and then would leave embarrassed after they realized that they had been staring. Smooth. One of them was Susan, I think. And another was this boy named Ernie. But, as I said, they left after they realized that they had been rude.

After the first one left, I made the awkward turtle sign towards Hannah, but she just looked at me strangely. Whoops, American things. So then I had to explain what awkward hand signals are and gave her a demonstration of the most popular, such as the aforementioned turtle, as well as the awkward palm tree, and the awkward baby turtles. She found it hilarious. I'm glad, because I was afraid that she'd scoff it off as stupid, to be honest. I was terrified that no one would accept my background, and not just the muggleborn side. It's kinda daunting knowing that you very well may be the _first ever_ American student. I was so thankful that Hannah was accepting me. _One student down, a zillion to go_.

The train ride took all day. About halfway through a nice old lady came by with a trolley full of sweets, and, after getting a primer in magical candy from Hannah, I bought myself a package of jelly beans and some chocolate frogs. Little Artemis, who had mainly been hiding under my seat for the majority of the ride, had popped out when she heard my shock after opening the first frog. Why, you might ask, Mr. Diary? Well, because the chocolate frog actually acts like a frog. Well, it does for like the first 5 seconds after you open it. But that was enough for my cat to start nudging me to open the rest of them so she could chase them until the magic wore off. Then she brought me the chocolate, would wait for it to be eaten, and then would start on the next frog. Hannah and I found this every amusing.

However, after a while we ran out of candy, and Artemis decided to take another nap (frog hunting must be tough) and conversation kinda lulled. Hannah then decided to ask me more about America, as well as about how it was like to grow up muggle. It was weird being the center of attention here, especially after spending the whole day asking _her_ about the world.

As I was in the middle of a story about the time that my old cat managed to sled down the roof of our house, the intercom went off letting us know that it was time to get ready for school. The two of us practically dove at our trunks to get our robes out. We got dressed and then checked each other over to make sure that we weren't going to make fools of ourselves in public. Well, that our clothing wouldn't be a factor in said humiliation. I managed to corral Artemis back in her kennel, promising her that it would be the last time I would do so to her until we went home. She gave me a glare, which I took to be a sort of pinky promise, so I stared her straight in the eyes and nodded, which apparently appeased her as she then went back to sleep. Cats.

The train finally came to a stop, and we exited the compartment and followed the crowd of students off. We ended in a giant field with two paths. One led to carriages, and the older looking kids were all walking that way (so it's for upper classmen), and then there was a giant standing in the middle of the other path. And, diary, when I say giant, I'm not exaggerating or being rude, he _had_ to have giant blood in him, he was way too tall! He was like 8 or 9 feet tall, no lie! So this large man, who I later learned is named Hagrid, called all the first years over to him. I guess it's a good thing they picked him to find all the firsties, as he is impossible to miss or ignore, so even the most confused munchkin couldn't get lost. Wait… I just called myself a munchkin, dang it. Well, I guess I'll be seeing first years like that in the future anyways….

So, we followed this Hagrid man to a lake, where there were boats lined up on the shore. Following his instruction, we clambered into the boats, which, after we had all gotten into one, took off on their own across the lake. I was seated next to Hannah, as well as Susan and Ernie, and I was too busy looking around the boat that I almost missed looking at the castle. Yes, castle, I live in a castle, castles are cool. Anyways, I almost missed the first glimpse of Hogwarts when Hannah nudged me, causing me to look up. Goodness gracious is this school gorgeous. It looks like something directly out of a fantasy book. It was more impressive and regal looking than the Disney castle, and that is saying something.

I am snapped out of my castle appreciation by Mr. Hagrid yelling at us to duck. Oh, a bridge, how nice. I complied with Hagrid and ducked, missing out on the great opportunity to get a concussion and go to the school nurse before I even figure out what house I am in. Pity, that would have been fun. Well, not really, but it would be a good story, well, after I recovered that is. So, I ducked and _did not_ get injured, and we ended at a large doorway, where we were greeted by none other than Ms. Teacher Lady!

I grinned at the familiar face, and continued to do so during her speech about the houses. _Houses are out family, we can't switch houses, don't do stupid things and lose points, be smart and good to get points, got it, yawn. _It was kinda repetitive, but I guess that not everyone had studied this stuff; there are always slackers in every school. But I mean really, a lot of this was common sense. Teacher Lady, or I guess I should call her McGonagall now that I'm at school, left after her speech to see when the school was ready for us to go in. After she left I started to get nervous. I looked around, everyone looked nervous. _I guess it's just the environment, emotions are contagious._ But then I also started to worry. What if I didn't get sorted with Hannah? How would I find new friends who wouldn't care that I was both muggleborn and American?

My worried thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the ghosts. Yeah, ghosts. They are real. And they aren't really that terrifying. Don't touch them though; they make you feel all cold and clammy. However, they can be very nice and good conversationalists, as was the ghost who introduced himself to us first, the Fat Friar, of Hufflepuff. I was more worried about Peeves, the poltergeist that they were talking about. I heard that this one focuses on pranks, but I have read that they can be super nasty, as they can actually interact with the living world. Creeeeepy.

Shortly after the ghosts made their debut, McGonagall came back and brought us into the Great Hall. And, I must say, even though I read _Hogwarts, A History_, and they had a picture of the hall, I was still flabbergasted at the beauty of it all. There were candles hanging in midair, the ceiling was projecting the sky, and the moon was gorgeous tonight, and there was just so much life and light in the hall that I felt happier just being there. Which, I must say, did a lot for my nerves. I was still not perfectly okay, but I was certainly no longer near crying. We all followed McGonagall to the front of the hall, and we all, on her orders, made a line across the hall behind a stool with a hat on it. A lot of the other firsties were looking at the hat funny, wondering if something was gonna pop out from under it, like those fake magicians in the muggle world.

Thankfully I had read what was about to happen, so after the instinctual jump, I had the chance to focus on other people's reactions. Some of them were really funny. This one boy with black hair was openly gaping at the hat, as if he still couldn't put together that this was all happening. Poor kid. The red headed kid next to him looked mad more than anything, _I wonder why._ The hat was singing throughout my observations, and after the song came to a close, I focused my attention forwards once more.

_There are a lot of students…. And they're all staring at us. _This wasn't helping my nerves. Don't they know that people have anxiety issues or social anxieties? They must be flipping out right now. As I pondered whether the magical world understood mental diseases, McGonagall had moved to the front of the room and pulled out a list. The whole hall grew nearly silent as she cleared her throat to call the first name.

"**Abbott, Hannah!**"

She started next to me, seemingly forgetting that her name was so far forward in the alphabet. I nudged her shoulder and smiled at her, and she made her way over to the stool. Jumping up to sit on the stool, she placed the hat upon her head. A moment later a call of "**HUFFLEPUFF!**" rang out from the hat. _Good, she got into the house that she wanted. Hopefully I'll be able to meet her there._ I looked over to where she sat, and she made eye contact with me, and pointed to the deliberately empty space next to her and smiled. That really boosted my confidence, my new friend believed in me. She barely knew me, but she believed that we were similar enough to both get into the same house.

Before I knew it, it was my turn.

"Macintosh, Emily!"

Oh goodness, everyone was staring at me. Oh me. Why me? I force myself to make my way forward to the hat. I see Hannah is still smiling at me. _Okay, _I steadied myself_, I can do this._ I sit on the stool, and put the hat unceremoniously on my head.

'Hm… very interesting..' _Umm…. Hello Mr. Hat? _'Hello, Miss Macintosh. You're an interesting one. You have a thirst to prove yourself, a thought that comes from both the fact that you don't want to be ostracized for being American, and well as the fact that you are, in fact, American, and therefore believe in the American Dream. However, despite your want to prove yourself, you also a strong thirst for knowledge, wanting to understand how the world works and how it all affects you. But, more importantly than either of those is your want for acceptance, and not just in the sense that you want friends. You seek to have others accept you, yes, but you also want to make sure that everyone is accepted. You want to work towards a world that is more understanding, and you will never cease to work towards that. For those reasons alone the only place you could possibly belong is…'

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I couldn't move for a moment, not just because I had gotten my wish, to be in the same house as Hannah, but I had just been psychoanalyzed, and had my dreams and my life work paved in front of me, by a _hat._ My brain was still trying to wrap itself around the implications of the hat's words when McGonagall tapped my shoulder, causing me to blush and rush over to the Hufflepuff table, where I sat myself promptly next to Hannah, who giggled at my embarrassment.

After the rest of the first years were sorted, including the whole debacle that occurred when Harry Potter's name was called, as well as the following explosion when I asked what was so special about him. Let me tell you, Diary, it'd be better to feign understanding and look up the answer later, that is for certain. Notes for the future.

Professor Dumbledore, who looked positively ancient and ethereal, also seemed entirely bonkers. And when I shared this opinion to those around me, most of them laughed and agreed, saying that that was one possible way to describe him. Right after his speech, if that's what you would call it, food appeared. There were some disgusting looking foods such as shepard's pie and what I found out later was Yorkshire pudding ("But it looks nothing like pudding!"), but I managed to survive, thanks to the discovery of the steak. Yay steak.

Dinner was rather, well, dinnery. I ate, I talked to people, I met way too many people whom I will never remember the names to, and I enjoyed myself. At the end of dinner, all of the food magically disappeared and Dumbledore stood up to give an actual speech. You know, one more than four words long. There were a lot of school rules that were mentioned, such as don't go into the Forbidden Forest; it's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason. However, the last of the rules was the most interesting, which was to never go into the 3rd floor corridor on the right-side of the school. Most of the school looked extremely confused, apparently it was a new rule, strange. Stanger still to note that the consequence for breaking this rule involved dying. I feel like I'm gonna pass on that one.

After that shocking news, Dumbledore then had us finish the feast with a singing of the school song. Unfortunately, however, there is no set tune to said school song. My ears still hurt. However, the last people to be singing was this set of redheaded twins that decided that a funeral dirge was the best bet. I like them, they aren't afraid to make fools of themselves, those are the best people to know.

After the song finished, we followed our prefects down to the Hufflepuff common room, which was located all the way next to the kitchens. One of them, Gabriel Truman, pointed to the stack of barrels in the hallway. "Our common room is behind those barrels, tap the second barrel from the bottom, the one in the middle of the 2nd row, to the rhythm of our founder, Helga Hufflepuff, and the way will open. If you get it wrong, you will be doused in vinegar, and, let me point out that it is _not_ pleasant." We were shown to correct way to open the common room, and then the barrel popped open, and the prefects crawled inside. So, we followed suit. Oh goodness, this place was amazing.

I felt at home the second I walked in, not just because it was, in fact, my home for the next few years, but because it just screamed homely. Everything was in earth tones and, even though it was night, the room still felt alive and sunny. I could easily see myself lounging here and relaxing, it perpetually felt like a warm spring day in this room. I loved it.

The prefects looked at us, and saw that we were dead tired. So, they gave us a quick introduction to the house. Contrary to popular belief, we are not duffers. We may not be the most outspoken house, but we never go wrong. Our house has produced the least amount of crazies into the world. We take care of our own. We're the house of the loyal for a reason. Etc. Etc. I just want to sleep.

They called the meeting to a close after their little shpeal, and told us to meet in here in the morning, before breakfast, and that they'd walk us to the Great Hall to make sure that we don't get lost. And then, after getting schedules, they'll have upperclassmen help to show us around so we really don't get lost.

Goodness Diary, I'd go into more detail, but I'm about to pass out. Goodnight!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, sorry for taking so long to update this! College is such a donkey, and I've been too caught up in classes, homework, and normal work to remember anything else. Well, I know that that is a pathetic set of excuses, so here is the next installment of my story! Enjoy! **

**Italics are thoughts at the time of the memory; thoughts written normally are her thoughts looking back at the situation.**

**I do not own anything that you recognize in this story except for my main character and her family.**

Chapter 5

Dear Diary,

Oh my goodness. I can't believe an entire week has gone by. This week has been crazy. So I'm gonna write up how my week has gone, and then I'm write letters to my parents and my brother. Man, I've missed my brother a ton. My parents too… but I mean, he's been my best friend my whole life. I know that a lot of siblings don't realize how awesome their brothers/sisters are until they get all old and stuff, but I'm different.

I guess that's really what it comes down to. I am different. And so is Zach. And I don't just mean that I am a witch, both Zach and I have issues, and it's hard for us to relate to other people sometimes. I don't mean like I'm stupid. You know that Diary, I'm pretty smart. But I have some issues. I can't pay attention for more than, like, 10 minutes unless I'm multitasking, I'm really twitchy, I can't always control what I'm doing and saying. All of these things have gotten me into tons of trouble growing up. That is, until I went to the doctor and got it all settled up. I have ADD and Tourette's Syndrome. I also was lucky enough to inherit the DNA strand that holds Depression, so I got that too, combined with an anxiety disorder. Overall, it's a bundle of fun.

My brother is really similar, he has ADD and OCD, as well as Depression and an anxiety disorder. Not a lot of people understand us. So we always stuck together. While I was slightly more outgoing than him, it was really difficult for both of us to make friends and stuff, even before me moved over here.I guess that's the main reason that I miss him so much, he was my "kindred spirit" or whatever it is that my mom said it was.

Anyways, why was that little tangent important you ask? Because apparently they don't have these issues in the wizarding world. No really. So, as my mother asked me to do, during a break on my first day, I trekked up to the nurse's office, infirmary, whatever, and I asked to speak to her about treatments. And she just looked at me like I had a second head. "Treatments? Treatments for what? You look perfectly healthy to me."

So, when she asked that, I pulled out the doctor's notes that I had from my previous doctors that my mother had carefully compiled for this lady, Madam Pomfrey, and handed them over. She looked astonished that the amount of notes that I had handed over. I waited really anxiously as she looked everything over, especially since she looked really flummoxed (that's a fun word) at what was written. When she finished she looked me over a few times with cautious eyes.

_You've got to be freaking kidding me._ I recognized that look. She thought I was crazy, that I was a psych ward patient. I had seen that look way too many times, mainly from parents of my friends the first time that they met me. They thought that mental disease meant feral. And apparently this doctor did too. And, when the nurse didn't stop looking at me that way (I mean seriously, you are a freaking nurse, don't you know any better?) I decided I needed to speak up, "Hey, I'm not crazy, you can stop looking at me like I'm about to attack."

She had the gall to look affronted. And then she realized what she was doing, and then looked humbled. _About time._ She shook herself back to a professional look and decided to finally do her job, "Well, I have never had to deal with this situation, what treatment do you usually get?"

She's never had to deal with this situation? How is that even possible? I had to ask, "You've never had any hyperactive kids who can't pay attention? Never had any seriously anxious kids who freak out when the slightest stressful thing happens? No children who have issues controlling themselves, physically or verbally?"

"Well, we just give them a calming drought. And if they get too much, they're usually homeschooled."

She went to continue, but I had to stop her, "You just force them to calm down with drugs or hide them away from society? What? How is that okay? What is this, the middle ages? I really thought that society had moved forward from this!"

At her confused look, I continued, "In the muggle world, instead of being freaking sedated whenever I get antsy or twitchy, I am taught how to recognize it happening and then I learn how to control it without help. Yes I have some medicine, but it doesn't act as a cure-all, it just makes the impulses and freak outs come slower so I can notice that it is there, and then squish it before it become an issue. You guys apparently just wait for us to freak out, and then sedate us and then expect us to make it not happen again! And if we can't be perfect members of society, or if we're weird, you hide us away! How are we supposed to learn to accept ourselves if you hide us away! What the heck! I came here to see if there were alternatives for my meds in potions, so my parents could see if I had to have them send me my meds every month or not! I also wanted to see if there was any form of counseling here at school, but I guess not!"

She was not expecting that at all. Heck, I wasn't expecting that at all. I mean really, who would expect a first year Hufflepuff to explode like that, and at an adult. Whoops, my inner civil rights agent was coming out. Once again, she had to collect herself. "I will look into seeing if there are any wizarding alternatives for any of your medicine, and I will see if I can get you a mindhealer, our version of a counselor, to talk to every once in a while. In the meantime, I will owl your parents about receiving your medicine here rather than having you have to deal with the embarrassment of getting them in the Great Hall in front of everyone else. I will also have a talk with the professors here to inform them of your situation, so they will not antagonize you about it in front of the class. And, if we are unable to get the mindhealer, I will step into the role, as I have training in the role. I would like to apologize for treating you with disrespect earlier."

_Finally._ I thanked her for her assistance, and wished her a good day, promising to come back as soon as she found out the answers to everything. I really hope that I don't have any more issues like that. Next thing you know I'll be the Nellie Bly of the Wizarding World. I really don't want a reputation as a rebel this early in my schooling career.

Anyways, after that fun situation, I had classes. Which are freaking awesome by the way. It's so weird hearing people complain about the amount of homework that we have. HELLO! WE ARE AT MAGIC SCHOOL DOING MAGIC! WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING? Seriously, I don't care about writing an essay about the different ways to wave a wand or the Goblins, that stuff is awesome. And I'll do any amount of writing if it lets me be better at magic. Yes, the wording for the textbook we have to read to writing said wand waving essay is kinda dry, but I'm still reading about how to correctly wave a wand. And, after doing all the reading and writing the essay, I did in fact learn how to wave my wand in different ways and why each variation is important. This is actually useful stuff. I want to smack my friends upside the head whenever they complain.

Speaking of friends, I've actually made some. We're not besties yet, but we're not unfriendly: progress. My closest friend is Hannah. But then I also became friends with Susan and Ernie and Justin, though Justin is a little bit of a ponce. He acts like he is amazing because he almost went to Eton. Great, your family is rich. Shut it. It's kinda fun though, as we all tease him whenever he gets really pompous, just like they all tease Susan and I whenever we're next to each other about how we're both redheads. I guess it's my fault that that round of teasing started, as I brought up the whole gingers don't have souls thing. My bad.

I really do love being a Hufflepuff. Everyone in the whole house is so nice, even the upper years. Like, Hannah introduced me to one of her family friends, this 4th year named Cedric. He was so nice, asking me about how I've been settling in, and thanking me for watching out for Hannah. And then he asked me about classes, and got into a nice conversation when I told about how much I loved history, though Binns was the worst teacher to have ever existed. Diary, Binns is a GHOST! Yeah, a real ghost, teaching history, you would think that the two would go hand in hand, but no, the class is a yawn fest. Thankfully the history textbook is interesting, as is the history section of the library. So, I've decided to rent out a history book to read during class from now. I told Cedric about this idea, and he smiled at me, and told me that it seemed like a great idea, and that he thinks that he'll be copying it!

I can't stop thinking about that diary. A fourth year is taking my idea. Wait… oh no. I think I have a crush on Cedric. Oh no. I didn't even make it a week! And it's on an older kid. Well, nothing's gonna come out of this, so I guess that I can just enjoy it. He is ever so handsome and nice. I'll just have to do my best to not act like an annoying lovestruck little girl and ride this out. I can do this. I totes can.

Anyways, I'm tired, and I have my meeting with Madam Pomfrey tomorrow, hopefully she'll soon lose that littel bit of wariness in her gaze, its getting annoying.. I'll write more later.

Night!


End file.
